Schlage biometric HandPunch time clocks save Tahlequah's HR Director's time and effortPublished on 20 March 2008  Ingersoll Rand Security Technologies recently announced that the City of Tahlequah in Oklahoma is using eleven Schlage HandPunch 3000 terminals to track and manage the city's 129 employees.
Eight of the hand geometry terminals reside on the city's network, while three remote locations use dial-up mode to transfer time and attendance data from the HandPunch time clocks directly to the HR Department. "Having the HandPunch terminals working in tandem with our Novatime time and attendance software, has made this aspect of my job much easier and less time consuming," attests Sue Stacy, Tahlequah's Human Resources Director. "The system calculates everything, including hours, sick leave and vacation. It provides better management and tracking of our employees. If a department head can't find an employee, they simply call me and I let them know which clock the employee most recently used." Prior to 2004, all data was entered by hand and employees signed in and out using a timesheet. Now, every city employee clocks in and out with one of the HandPunch terminals, which are placed in convenient places for the employees, but away from the public. The employee simply enters an ID number and then places a hand on the platen of the HandPunch terminal. Verification takes less than a second. The biometric time clock's buffers hold the time stamps. Running the Novatime software, Stacy can pull this data from the networked HandPunch terminals whenever she wishes. In addition, her PC has a modem, which downloads the information from the dial-ups at the remote locations. All employees' three-dimensional hand templates are registered in Stacy's office where they are associated with each employee's individual ID number. To enrol, the employee simply places his or her hand on the platen three times. From that point on, the resulting template of the hand scans and the associated ID number verify each particular employee every time he or she uses the biometric time clock. There are no cards to administer, print or manage. "From a technician's standpoint, the system works well," reports the city's IT Manager Ed Goss. "I don't really have to do much with the time clocks. With a regular punch clock, time is not stored. This system does everything automatically. Its increased capability delivers more flexibility and lessens administrative duties. It saves time and, from an IT perspective, I would recommend others consider such a solution." So does Stacy: "I would recommend our system to other cities." Compu-Time of Oklahoma City provided the City of Tahlequah with the Schlage HandPunch/Novatime system. | 
